I’ve run the Great North Run three times. None of them recently. As we edge towards September 11th though, it’s time for Sir Brendan of Foster to welcome runners to Newcastle again for ‘The Biggest Half Marathon In The World’, this year featuring ‘Double Double’ Olympic Champion Mo Farah (at time of writing) and without a doubt, several Horsforth Harriers. I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been a year in the long history of the run when there’s been no Horsforth representation.
I would confess to being amazed several years ago when on the run up to one of my own attempts on the GNR (as we shall refer to it) to hear Gordon talk about it in disparaging terms and complain loudly about him not wanting to do it again – his view was it was expensive and what the average club runner was paying for was the elite dozen or so athletes at the head of the race, and very probably, an increase in the size of Brendan’s bank account. He had though, and continues to have, a point.
Another friend dismissed the GNR as ‘a stupid race’. Given that it was just after I’d completed it, on this occasion I actually felt compelled to agree. Because it’s not the race to do a great time on – the sheer numbers mean that it’s extraordinarily difficult to improve on your PB, unless you set it there in an earlier year. I once ran the GNR with my wife and we finished together in 1:55. The race was notable for Julie retiring from racing (one of many such retirements) as she crossed the finish line. “But that’s a great time” other ladies in club said, “I’d kill for that time, how can you quit?” The answer is she didn’t, not quite then at any rate. But she wasn’t happy with the time. Although we did start in the sub seven minute mile pen, much to Julie’s chagrin. “I can’t run that fast!” she wailed. “Listen”, I said, “there’s a guy in front of us dressed as a duck in thirty pounds of bright yellow fake fur and the temperature is up towards the seventies. If he’s going to run seven minute miles or less in that lot, I want to be able to see it”.
I went back the following year to tear up the tarmac (this was back when I could, sort of) and managed to run a mere less-than-six-or-so minutes quicker, despite weaving through the crowds like an out of control dervish. And the course, presumably because it is urban motorway for the most part, is very hard on the legs and feet and, in my opinion, they take longer to recover than in your usual standard road race.
Of course, it could be argued that the GNR and its myriad successful offshoots all over the country (check out the website) have signalled the death knell for many smaller local road races, who cannot compete with the GNR’s clout. Consider, for instance, the Leeds Marathon and Half Marathon, originally run by Leeds City Council. The marathon was efficiently and quietly dispensed with and the half marathon was (eventually) passed on to the Jane Tomlinson inspired and family run ‘Race For All’ organisation who rescued it (admittedly with support from the Council), but only after a massive protest from local runners who pointed out vociferously that (another) 10K instead a half marathon wasn’t the same thing at all. Not directly the fault of the GNR but the options it provides, as did ‘Run for All’, presumably meant that the Council felt they could ditch it without ramifications. Thankfully, they were wrong.
Closer to the GNR’s home, the ‘Oldest Road Race In The World’, the New Year’s Day Morpeth to Newcastle Run (fourteen miles of it) bit the dust a few years back. There were myriad reasons for its demise, despite it being brilliantly well organised and generally well supported, but one wonders if the GNR organisation had got behind it and it had TV coverage and, as a result, attracted (more) big name runners and sponsors whether it would be alive and kicking and still be an important fixture in the racing calendar.
When choosing the date for the Horsforth 10K the first thing we used to do was to try and find out when the GNR was, as it was always around the time of our race. Firstly, so we didn’t clash, although the GNR has, in recent times, become almost as hard to get into as The London Marathon and entry is determined so far in advance it’s less of an issue nowadays, and also if we could run our 10K a week, or even two weeks, before the GNR we figured it would be a good ‘tune up’ for those heading to Tyneside.
You could also say that part of the reason we currently don’t run a 10K road race (watch this space though….?!) is because the costs associated with any road race these days are virtually impossible to afford unless you are a huge behemoth of a company like the outfit that runs the GNR and all the other ‘Great Runs’ that attract huge numbers of entrants. And that further assumes you can first get permission to run your race on the public highway from the relevant authorities. The police forces throughout the country, while not ‘just saying no’ will make most organisers – unpaid volunteers in the main let’s remember – think twice about whether they want the risks and responsibility should anything go awry. And if anybody has an hour or two they don’t know what to do with I would point them to UKA’s rules and regulations for running a road race!
So you’d think I’m dead against the GNR reading the above, but you’d be wrong. It has its faults and although it’s possible to view it as the start of road races all slowly becoming ‘big event’ races, it remains a great day or weekend out – quite apart from the race Newcastle is a brilliant place! – I would recommend anybody who asked me about it to do it at least once, if only for the experience. The organisation is slick, but the BBC will brand you a fun runner and you’ll be largely ignored in coverage (this I can tell you from years of setting up the vid-day-o to capture my exploits – it never did). And the traffic and transportation away from the race is a nightmare. And the toilets at the start, though seemingly plentiful, are virtually impossible to access as the crowds gather – thus, how the trees and grass on the Town Moor at the start have not been declared toxic wastelands I’ll never know – although if the TV is going to capture your efforts, here is possibly your best, and potentially most embarrassing, chance! But assuming you’ve got your miles in beforehand you will have a terrific experience and a grand day out, something you’ll remember for the rest of your life, if you are anything like me. It is wonderful. Just don’t expect a fast time, and don’t forget to support a smaller, local road race too. While we still have them.
The Fat Bloke
PS. What smaller local road races you ask? Well Ken Kaiser tells me this week that the Tadcaster Ten may be making a comeback. Hurrah!
